Tag: Edmonton

On my most recent visit to Edmonton (earlier this year), I had the opportunity to visit Arcadia, which is this great vegan bar just on the new fun street of 124. Over the past few years, 124th has really expanded in terms of vegan offerings, starting up with Clever Rabbit, and one of the first homes of Sailin’ On Vegan Food Truck (at the 124 Grand St Market.) So Arcadia has since expanded their menu from the night I was there, but luckily, they still have the incredible sandwich I had. The Green Onion Cake Donair. I’ve had a hard time conveying to non-Edmontonians what a “green onion cake” is, and why it’s so special. Most of the time in my travels and everywhere else, I’ve encountered a thin pastry like scallion/green onion cake similar to a paratha. In Edmonton it’s more of a salty doughy cake with diced green onions in it. It’s not flaky. It has a good density. There is such an obsession with these delicious cakes, there is even someone living in Edmonton with the GreenOnionCakes.com domain, that started a petition trying to make it the official dish of Edmonton. So, take a couple of large green onion cake, and add thinly sliced seasoned seitan donair, pour in some garlic sweet sauce, lettuce and tomatoes, and turn it into a sandwich. Brilliant. I don’t know how I feel about baked green onion cakes vs fried ones, but this sandwich totally worked out perfectly. Some of my Edmonton…

Shortly after arriving in Edmonton for a brief visit, hanging out at home and with my parents’ cat Misha, my mom and I decided to head over to Abyssinia Restaurant, a Ethiopian restaurant in East Central Edmonton, just a bit north of the downtown core. Abyssinia is an Ethiopian family restaurant in Edmonton that serves a variety of meat and vegan dishes everyday, and offers a totally vegan buffet twice a week on Wednesday & Friday evenings between 5-9pm. I couldn’t help but think if this place was in Toronto it would have been PACKED full, especially on vegan night. But instead there were a couple tables occupied, but otherwise, it was not so busy. Service was helpful and friendly, and they told us all about the food they had to offer. So many incredible dishes, like kei misir wot (spicy lentils), alicha misir (turmeric lentils), gomen (chopped spicy greens), tikel gomen (cabbage & carrots), fosolia (green beans, carrots, and potato), kik wot, okra, sweet potato dishes, fresh green salads, and all the injera (made with corn, buckwheat, and teff flour) you could ever eat. I piled my plate full of everything, sampling a bit of this and that of whatever drew my eye. There is something especially so fantastic about Ethiopian food – the spices, the flavours. It’s warming and comforting, and while dishes are similar between restaurants and rooted in tradition, every chef has their own unique style. They make it their own, and I was really delighted by what…

I feel like it’s been too long since I took a moment to write a TILT. Too long. Last year even! To be honest, I started writing this last week, on January 1st, which also just happened to be a Thursday but got side tracked. But really, what better time to look back on 2014, and say, you were pretty decent, and I liked you? Better late than never? I suppose that’s been my policy for blogging in general. 2014 was a year of awesome travel, great experiences, and lots of plans & plots that are sure to carry through to 2015. The first few days of January 2014 were spent in the southern United States. We rang in the New Year in New Orleans. I never blogged about it, but what a beautiful way to ring in the New Year, off in the French Quarter, so many people from so many different places together. February 2014 is when one of my favourite fundraisers in Toronto happens – Recipe for change. I took a bunch of pictures and enjoyed the whole event greatly. I’m looking forward to it this year too. March 2014 was my first visit to Los Angeles, and when we attended the incredible ExpoWest, where natural and organic product makers, marketers, and retailers converge on to an expo building in Anaheim, California. Looking forward to this year’s expo as well. But what I really want… is to go back to this beach and run around in sandals in March.…

Whyte Ave is like Vancouver’s Commercial Drive, Toronto’s Queen Street (or maybe it’s The Danforth…), Calgary’s 17th Ave, or Saskatoon’s Broadway Avenue. Every city has that street, at least one, that you know as The Street (or Avenue) that people go for arts, foods, shopping, and assorted randomness. I can remember walking around on Whyte Ave with my mom when I was little, and then later when I was a punk in high school, and then later still when I just lived in the area. To this day, it’s still one of those places where vastly different groups can intermingle, sometimes with positive results, sometimes with not so positive results. Narayanni’s Restaurant is tucked behind Whyte Avenue, so it’s got the benefit of being easy to get to by public transit (and still has parking) but it’s also off the busy street (parking!) We went to one of Narayanni’s special “Vegan Nights” which is going on every Tuesday during the month of May. It was a bargain at $15, and it sounds like they do a regular Vegan night every month (but they might do it more often if encouraged by attendance). Normally Narayanni’s is a vegan friendly, but not exclusively vegan, South African Indian restaurant. And run by the same folks that started Block 1912 cafe right on Whyte Ave. Narayanni’s, named after the owner’s granddaughter, has been open since 2010, and regularly offers a variety of vegan and gluten free items at their buffet. The atmosphere is a blend of casual…

There are so many things I love, and so many things I could be talking about, but this week, I’m relishing my time in Edmonton. It’s been a little under a year since my last visit, and at some point last month I realized I missed my family & friends, and it was time for a visit. So there has been food, and fun, and lots of catching up. I’ve really enjoyed it. Everything is novel, and I’m a tourist in my hometown. I’m comparing notes, I’m remembering old haunts, and realizing they are completely gone. I’m discovering new and interesting places, and old and interesting places, and exploring the city through a whole new lens.

Yesterday was our first full day in Edmonton and we filled it up with a whole bunch of Edmontonriffic activities. Starting the day off bright and early (or just normal in Toronto) we went over to the City Market Downtown / 104th Street Farmers Market to take a look at what’s changed (and what’s stayed the same.) It seems to have almost doubled in size since I was last here, (and can I say how cool it is to be able to look back 2 years and see when I was here last… nearly exactly 2 years to the date) and even though it was a rainy Saturday morning, there was a decent crowd. Many of the same vendors were there, but just as many new-to-me ones. The one vendor that had really sparked my interest in going to the market this weekend – the cookie lady, Bloom Bakery, that oh-so-many people recommended wasn’t there today. But on the bright side, I got to see a friend working at the market I might not have seen otherwise.

Sometimes without my reminder on twitter that it’s #TILT day, I would forget it was Thursday. This week has gone by quickly, quicker than usual, for better or worse. Earlier this week I met up with an Edmonton friend at the Pearson International Airport while she was on a layover back from Cancun. I hadn’t realized how much I missed her, and also relatedly – how much I miss Edmonton itself. JC and I had been planning on going to Defcon in Las Vegas this August, but I think we may just go visit my hometown. It’s been nearly two years, and there are so many things about the city and around the city that I want to show him (in addition to Calgary and Banff, maybe Jasper). Plus I’m sure there are new and exciting things going on, and I want to find them. Other than the potential travel at the end of next month, I’m looking forward to the Dufferin Grove Farmers Market today (3-7) and sending out my Foodie Penpals Swap and my Vegan Food swap Packages very soon. More stuff I love: Squatting 240lbs at Totum yesterday. It’s getting kind of amazing to me how powerful running/walking legs can be. I ran a quick mile and a half on the treadmill, and then thought… I should go home… but instead went back up stairs and did a little bit of weight training. Fitocracy is keeping me motivated. Good Dinners. Businesses involved in supporting organizations and individuals that…